Female ski jumpers will compete Feb.11 for the first time in this event since the Winter Olympics began 90 years ago. In the backdrop, protests and boycott calls continue against the Sochi Winter Games over Russia’s discrimination of gays and lesbians.

A lashing sentence for a 15-year-old was overturned by a Maldives court. But a Gallup poll indicates that 15 percent of American women were passed over for a promotion or an opportunity at work because of their gender.

Puebla is one of many Mexican states where discrimination based on gender orientation is not considered a crime. Many transgenders who live here describe their efforts to leave. And how they wound up giving up.

LGBT leadership of the protests at Taksim Square tapped new levels of support for the annual Istanbul pride parade on June 30. “People feel what gays are feeling because we have been suppressed,” said one crossover demonstrator.

France’s legalization of same-sex marriage on April 23 may not have been possible without her courage and eloquence. “A star is born,” say some media, and her style and courage deserve all the admiration she has won.

CEDAW–the international beacon for women’s rights–does not shine on lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people in Indonesia. This is a painful disappointment, given LBT people’s need for protection from a fundamentalist backlash.

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It is being hailed as the most progressive state policy so far, going further than New Jersey, California and Rhode Island in various respects. But its showcase potential won’t be tested until the program gets going in 2018.